AGMATSWHLMAR Chapter 53

Ruan Tang’s success within the Empress’s faction was astonishing, prompting those who had previously overlooked him to re-evaluate their opinion.

Even his esteemed father, Ruan Ming, upon seeing signs of Ruan Tang’s rise, personally sought to rekindle their father-son relationship.

“You’ve become much cleverer lately, my boy. Well done, even securing the position of chairman of the Omega Protection Association. Now you resemble my son, Ruan Ming. If only you had been this astute before,” Ruan Ming greeted Ruan Tang with a smile, adopting the demeanor of a loving father and offering him affirmation and praise.

In the past, Ruan Tang’s lack of ambition and his constant rebuttals had led Ruan Ming to view him as useless and incompetent, believing he hadn’t inherited any of his good qualities. He disliked him. But now, seeing Ruan Tang seizing opportunities to climb the ladder, he began to view him more favorably.

Ruan Tang, disgusted by this display, sneered and retorted, “My achievements today are all thanks to your years of instruction and guidance, Father, aren’t they?”

His words were superficially polite, but the tone was dripping with sarcasm, leaving a distinctly unpleasant aftertaste.

“What is this? What kind of attitude is that?” Ruan Ming, taken aback by his words, detected the mockery in Ruan Tang’s tone and his expression changed drastically, turning furious.

While he couldn’t claim to be particularly good to Ruan Tang, and had even used him as a tool to exchange for the family’s benefits, Ruan Ming felt that Ruan Tang was constantly defying him. He had given him everything he should have given at the time of his marriage and could fully be called a loving father…

He felt he owed Ruan Tang nothing.

“What kind of attitude? Aren’t you perfectly aware of it, Father?” Ruan Tang chuckled, “If I were you, I wouldn’t seek to display paternal affection by visiting a son you abandoned, only to be rebuffed, after seeing him gain a modicum of success in your eyes.”

“You—” Ruan Ming was trembling with rage.

Ruan Tang completely disregarded his feelings, tearing away the facade: “Self-righteous, callous, and ungrateful to this extent, and now you come to fawn over me? Don’t you find yourself laughable, disgusting, and less like a person and more like a cold-blooded animal?”

In the past, Ruan Tang had managed to maintain a semblance of a father-son relationship with Ruan Ming, but since discovering that his mother’s idiocy wasn’t due to the trauma of his siblings’ accidents, but rather poisoning, he could no longer forgive Ruan Ming, the culprit.

He didn’t even want to give Ruan Ming any face.

Ruan Ming was so enraged by his words that he nearly spat blood, looking at Ruan Tang’s ungrateful, irredeemable behavior, he simply wanted to leave.

But thinking of how much power Ruan Tang now held, the Empress’s favor, and Auston’s affection, his future was limitless, and he was unwilling to give up on this promising son…

“You… you are being senseless, foolish. Seeing as you are now the chairman of the Omega Protection Association and the Duke’s wife, I will give you some face. As your father, I won’t argue with you!” Ruan Ming swallowed his anger, but still justified himself: “Apart from forcing your marriage and not loving you as much as I love Ruan Xi, I’ve given you everything you should have. Where have I wronged you as a father?”

Ruan Tang immediately laughed: “Are you giving me face? Marshal Ruan is probably concerned about his own face, isn’t he?”

Ruan Tang knew why Ruan Ming was tolerating him. When he was useful, even if he was arrogant, it didn’t matter. But when he was useless, even if he begged for mercy, this man would turn a blind eye… Having seen through his father’s selfishness and hypocrisy, he didn’t want to continue acting with him.

“You are my biological father. It is your responsibility to give birth to me and raise me!” He said, each word distinct: “You haven’t wronged me in any way, but you are callous, ungrateful, repeatedly unfaithful, abandoned your wife, and sold your children for personal gain. You are unjust and unrighteous. An Alpha like you, a father like you, is fit to stand in front of me lecturing me? Pretending to be a loving father, asking me where you’ve wronged me?”

Ruan Ming had already visited three or four times in recent days. Ruan Tang originally didn’t want to see him at all, but after seeing his mother and siblings in such miserable states, he couldn’t swallow his anger, and that was why he met Ruan Ming.

Now that he had vented his anger smoothly, Ruan Tang immediately put down his coffee cup: “It’s getting late, and I’m tired. Father, please leave.”

He was directly ordering him to leave.

As soon as he finished speaking, the Duke’s mansion’s robots immediately stepped forward, picked up Ruan Ming, and prepared to carry out Ruan Tang’s order to send him away…

Ruan Ming had been self-righteous his whole life, and had never been treated like this before, and almost fainted with anger. He pointed at Ruan Tang and began to curse: “What are you so proud of? Do you think you’re amazing now that you’re the chairman of the Omega Protection Association, the Duke’s wife, and favored by the Empress and the Duke?”

“I’m telling you, without the Ruan family and without me, your father, backing you up, you are nothing!” Ruan Ming said in exasperation: “I want to see how long you can be so proud and how far you can go with your stupid, brainless self.”

Ruan Tang chuckled and replied, “Then please wait and see, Father.”

He had been working hard to gain a foothold in the Empress’s faction, but now that he had gained a foothold, his next step was to attack the Ruan family and his father, Ruan Ming.

Ruan Ming was forcibly taken out by the robots while cursing and yelling.

Ruan Tang watched his disappearing figure holding a coffee cup, but smiled with sarcasm.

“He seems to sincerely want to win you over and reconcile with you?” Auston, who had pushed his wheelchair out from somewhere, asked casually.

He had heard some of the father and son’s argument.

The smile on Ruan Tang’s face was extremely sarcastic: “Of course he sincerely wants to win me over and reconcile with me. He won’t let go of anything that’s profitable. Of course, he wants to be a loving father and a filial son with me.”

Ruan Ming’s health had been failing since a battle in his early years. Later, the mainstay of the Ruan family’s Sun and Moon Army was Ruan Tang’s older brother, Ruan Yang.

After Ruan Yang’s accident, although the Ruan family was large, and Ruan Ming had many children, they were all busy fighting for power and coveting his wealth. Their ambitions were small, and none of them could support the family.

Ruan Ming was most afraid that the family he had worked so hard to revive would collapse, but the Ruan family had no outstanding heir.

Therefore, Ruan Ming greatly cherished any descendants who could bring benefits to the family. As long as he could glimpse a little that could add glory to the family, he was willing to tolerate it, wanting to win them over.

This was the case for both him and Wen Run.

“Then why don’t you act like a loving father and a filial son with him? Since you want the Ruan family, maybe pretending will make it easier for you to get your hands on it?” Auston looked at him with profound eyes, and asked a question that was quite like Ruan Tang’s past style.

Ruan Tang shook the coffee cup in his hand, but said with some boredom: “Because pretending might make what I want to do easier, but that’s too boring, and not satisfying enough.”

His answer was quite Auston-esque.

“Besides, I don’t want to pretend anymore…” Ruan Tang had been suppressing himself for too long, and he didn’t want to endure Ruan Ming any longer.

Auston looked at him in surprise: “You just asked him to leave like that, aren’t you afraid that the reputation you finally regained will be spread around Imperial Star again?”

“Don’t worry, sir. He won’t. My father loves his face the most. I think he’s more afraid of others knowing that our relationship is bad and that he was asked to leave.” Ruan Tang knew Ruan Ming’s personality too well, so he was unafraid.

He suddenly thought of something and added, “Besides, even if someone knows, so what? Who in Imperial Star now dares to spread rumors about my reputation? And even if they do spread rumors, so what?”

Having been in this circle for a long time, Ruan Tang understood that whether or not your reputation in the circle was good was not important at all. The power you held in your hands was what mattered.

When you had no power, even if you did nothing, a few accusations from others would make people believe that you were a black-hearted lotus, a treacherous and vicious person.

But when you had power and influence, even if you were a scheming, treacherous person, no one would say a bad word about you… On the contrary, countless people would rush to praise you and compliment your fictitious virtues.

Ruan Tang had now completely understood and seen through it.

“That’s not like you at all.” Auston stroked his chin, looking at Ruan Tang with deep eyes.

Auston felt that he was starting to not recognize this omega.

However, he liked it.

This kind of Ruan Tang was also shrouded in a different kind of charm.

“Of course, after being with you for so long, sir, I naturally have to be influenced by you.” Ruan Tang blinked his eyes, without thinking.

Auston didn’t expect him to answer like this, and immediately couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing: “Pfft, hahaha~”

“What are you laughing at, sir? Do you realize that sometimes the things you say are ridiculous?” Ruan Tang looked at him depressed.

After being with Auston for a long time, he had been infected and assimilated, and had become abnormal…

“Funny, you’re really funny.” Auston did not answer his question, staring at Ruan Tang, but his smile faded slightly. When he had laughed enough, he asked Ruan Tang solemnly, “Then how do you feel about being me?”

Ruan Tang immediately answered very honestly: “Not bad, very good, very satisfying.”

In fact, occasionally letting go of oneself and doing whatever one wants is very beneficial to one’s physical and mental health. After scolding Ruan Ming just now, Ruan Tang felt extremely comfortable both physically and mentally.

Ruan Ming, as Ruan Tang had expected, did not publicize the fact that Ruan Tang had been disrespectful to him and had asked him to leave the mansion. He even suppressed the matter, and did not let a word of it leak out.

However, after Ruan Tang had torn his face apart with him like that, he never contacted Ruan Tang again.

Ruan Tang was happy to have some peace and quiet.

One day, after getting off work as usual and returning home, Ruan Tang had just entered the door.

The servants at home rushed over to tell him, “Madam, Young Master Ruan Yang is awake.”

Ruan Yang’s treatment had already begun a long time ago. During his treatment, Ruan Tang, no matter how busy he was, would take time out every day to talk to him.

Ruan Yang’s brain waves showed that the treatment had been improving all the time, but Ruan Tang had no idea when he would wake up.

Unexpectedly, the good news came so quickly.

Upon hearing this, Ruan Tang ran excitedly towards Ruan Yang’s room.